A Party Organ Shifts Into High Gear

The Washington Post (editorial page excepted) has been leading the cheers for Barack Obama for some time. The Post outdid itself on Friday morning. Here are the headlines it ran for the four stories that appeared on page 1:

(I noticed those policy specifics too — become energy independent in 10 years, fix social security, and deter Iran. And what does the Post mean by “pointed” criticism? I think they’re trying to say the criticism is valid).

2. A Remarkable Event (bold in original) — For the Descendants of King’s Dream, a New Day Dawns

3. Witnesses To A Historic Moment (bold in original) — At the Very Top of Invesco Field, Feeling More Than a Mile High

(That’s how they were feeling on 15th Street in Washington, D.C. too)

4. The Message That the Party Wanted to Hear

The final story was styled “analysis;” the others purport to be straight news. But here’s now the “Remarkable Event” story, by Kevin Merida, leads off:

No one said this exactly, but imagination was the quiet star of this day, that thing that leaps over walls and moves the fences of our limitations.

Forty-five years ago, many of those who jammed the Mall in Washington to hear a young Baptist preacher exhort the nation to be better were just trying to get the foot off their necks, win the right to vote, stay at a highway motel, eat at a decent diner. They were trying to send injustice packing. Not elect a black man president. Most had not yet envisioned that.

But imaginations have expanded this campaign season, soaring beyond Invesco Field, where Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination Thursday night, becoming the first African American to stand before his nation and ask for its November vote.

The Post was a bit more measured this morning when it reported on John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin. The headline was: “McCain Picks Alaska Governor; Palin First Woman on GOP Ticket — Democrats Insist Running Mate Lacks Experience.”

With the Washington Post, you’re never more than a sentence away from a Democratic talking point.